Please Follow Him




Give him a mask,” I suggested to the Intake Nurse as I went there to help her out in screening newly-arrived arrestees. I distanced myself far away from this man when I was screening another arrestee and my attention got caught by his coughing.


This particular young male she was screening for health problems was coughing until he threw up a little bit. He stated that he had been sick for five days but he never sought any medical treatment.


Aware of the prevalence of the “swine flu scare” that we had recently, despite the vital signs being normal except for a mild fever, putting a mask on him was what first came to my mind as the number 1 intervention. Doing so would prevent others from contracting anything if that inmate happened to be contagious.


The other nurse kept sitting close to him. She didn’t seem to listen to my suggestion. Hesitantly, she felt like sending him to the hospital. She phoned the charge nurse for her second opinion. The whole time, the inmate continued to cough without a mask on.


Sir, will you please cover your mouth whenever you cough?” I commanded.
Upset with his latest arrest, he seemed to purposely cough louder and tried to draw attention to scare others nearby. He was admitted and the nurse placed him for the doctor’s sick call that morning. Still without agreeing with my suggestion of giving him a mask.


When I went back to work that night, I learned about the chaos that ensued. The doctor ended up sending that inmate to the county hospital because he had swine flu symptoms. Swabs were done on him and the custody staff who came in contact with him. The nurse who saw him wasn’t aware since she was off that night and work had failed to try to get hold of her. No one was answering her home phone. As a precaution, some deputies were started with Tamiflu, the antiviral medications that hopefully, would prevent the staff from getting sick and whoever was exposed with him.


All the high ranking officials and medical staff’s highest supervisors were notified. The actions came swiftly to contain those who had contact and treatment was initiated in no time.


I was grateful to know that we had that kind of response. But deep inside, I knew in my heart that this chaos would have been prevented if that inmate was given a simple mask and isolated from others.


That morning, I called that nurse early and didn’t care if I had to wake her up. She needed to know because I knew that she was exposed herself. Pending the result of the swab, it was her option to take the Tamiflu or not. She didn’t bring up about my suggestion but I felt her anxiety because it became a big problem. I sensed she was afraid if she would get in trouble as supervisors were all notified.


Why are we selective when it comes to hearing God’s Word? We know His ways are best for us but somehow, we ignore His warning. We do what we think we know is right. But oftentimes, our actions come back to either haunt us or hurt us.

Proverbs 4:4-9:

4 - “Take my words to heart. Follow my instructions and you will live.”

5 - “Learn to be wise, and develop good judgment. Don’t forget or turn away from my words.”

6 - “Don’t turn your back on wisdom, for she will protect you. Love her, and she will guard you.”

7 - “Getting wisdom is the most important thing you can do! And whatever else you do, get good judgment.”

8 - “If you prize wisdom, she will exalt you. Embrace her and she will honor you.”

9 - “She will place a lovely wreath on your head; she will present you with a beautiful crown.”

18 comments:

  1. Oh my friend, if people would only listen. I love you, and I am keeping you in my prayers.

    ReplyDelete
  2. God bless you for your good sound judgement of His word. And thank you for the work you do! Carol

    ReplyDelete
  3. What a wonderful post. I think many times the lack of listening is a trust issue we have with God. We only trust Him as much as the depth of our relationship will allow. Therefore, people don't listen because the don't recognize the depth of Love God has for them.

    Of course, this may not be the only reason, just one thought.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Great ? Why do we take lightly HIS commands..especially the simple ones?

    Sometimes, I think we are not focused on what GOD wants...what is good, lovely, profitable in HIS eyes.

    Praying with you for better focus in following the commands of our Heavenly Father.

    GOD BLESS and much love, andrea

    PS: Thank you for visiting SeaGlass Reflections. I know it meant "a lot" to Donna.

    ReplyDelete
  5. We are selective in what we hear and apply, aren't we? Good warning. I bet you won't have to suggest to this nurse again that she be careful and give a mask, huh? Good post.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Rosel,

    Please stop by my blog today to pick up your very special surprise!

    Love and Hugs ~ Kat

    ReplyDelete
  7. Oh My Precious Friend,

    What a scare...You were obedient in your actions...too bad some were not!

    May God continue to bless you dear friend in the line of work that you do, not only as a nurse, but as one who spreads His message to all who are around you.

    I love you.

    Peace, Blessings, Hugs & Prayrs,
    Alleluiabelle

    ReplyDelete
  8. Rosel:
    May God's blessings surround you in your work and may He protect you from any onslaught of the enemy.

    Love and prayers,
    Mary

    ReplyDelete
  9. Rosel,

    I was just praying last night for you specifically in regards to flu!!!

    You have such a gift of discernment and I am ever so grateful for those around me that have that gift! I pray that this nurse will see and recognize that in you and will heed your suggestions in the future! Again, you are such a gift to all of those around you!

    Love you

    ReplyDelete
  10. Rosel,

    Again you prick our hearts with your life stories.

    I pray God will stop the spread of this horrible flu in Jesus' Name.

    Love,
    Beth

    ReplyDelete
  11. Sometimes a little common sense and a simple prevention could save everyone a lot of time.

    ~Silver

    ReplyDelete
  12. Great post!
    All of us would do well to heed the Lord's words - and yet, we always tend to think "it will never happen to me"

    I hope and pray dear sister that you continue to stay well. That inmate was putting everyone at risk with his obstinate stance in coughing purposely after being told to cover up. I pray that everyone will be spared and that the nurse who was exposed will learn her lesson from all of this.
    Blessings to you sweet sister!
    Kymber

    ReplyDelete
  13. Oh boy -- What an ordeal. I pray that you are all doing OK physically after this. Also, I appreciate the lesson you've found within -- a lesson for all of us on obeying the Word of God.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Your light continues to shine for HIm. Thank you for sharing and shining down on me today.

    Blessings from Costa Rica,
    Sarah Dawn

    ReplyDelete
  15. you are a shining light. I feel it even through your blog. Sarah

    ReplyDelete
  16. Thank you for viisting again yesterday. And your kind words. I love Joyce she is so down to earth. She shows you Jesus in the everyday. We go see her when she comes to Virginia but this time we are traveling for the women's convention.Thank you again and may God keep blessing you and others through you and your work! Carol

    ReplyDelete
  17. What a great post! Nurses are such gifts! Whoever has you must be blessed.

    What a great message, about listening to hear God. Sometimes we need to turn down the background sounds of our life to better hear God!

    ReplyDelete

"Faith is taking the first step even if you don't see the whole staircase..."
~ Martin Luther King, Jr.

All posts/composed songs copyright by RCUBEs.



Encouragers

GotQuestions?org

Friends